A newspaper�s map pinpointing residents who hold gun permits could lead ex-convicts to the homes of the officers who caught them, a coalition of police organizations said Tuesday.

The Affiliated Police Association of Westchester County demanded that The Journal News take the map down from its website. In a separate announcement, the county executive also called for the map to be shut down.

The police group�s vice president, Robert Buckley, said the posting endangers the families of active and retired �police officers, parole officers, probation officers, correction officers, court officers, district attorneys� investigators, ATF officers, CIA agents, U.S. marshals and FBI agents.�

�We are the ones who put the criminals away,� Buckley said at a news conference in White Plains, backed by about 110 members. �We are talking about some of the most ruthless murderers, rapists, pedophiles, organized crime figures and gang members. … Some of them may want to retaliate.�

He said inmates have been telling Rockland County correction officers, �We know where you live. … Your wife and kids are home alone.�

Buckley said some active officers � including the Rockland correction officers � are required to have a pistol permit for their gun. All officers must have a permit to carry a gun after retirement, he said.

Last month, The Journal News published an interactive map listing the names and addresses of residents of Westchester and Rockland with handgun permits. That prompted a debate on what records should be made public and led to some threats against the paper and its staffers. A third county, Putnam, has refused to turn over similar data on its residents.

County Executive Robert Astorino sent a letter to Janet Hasson, president and publisher of The Journal News Media Group, acknowledging that the newspaper had the right to publish the information but saying it was �misguided.�

�Whatever your purpose in publishing the map, surely three weeks was enough to make your point,� the county executive said.

The Journal News map prompted some privacy provisions in a gun control bill that passed the state Legislature on Tuesday. Under the bill, some permit owners � including police officers � would be allowed to keep their information private.

Buckley called that �a victory for the law enforcement community.�

He said the coalition might sue the newspaper if the map led to any confrontations at officers� homes.

A spokesman said The Journal News had no comment.

(AP)